China Builds 10 New Airbases Along LAC- India Facing New War Paradigm on Borders, Ignoring it Won’t Work Says Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: According to the report by Kolkata based newspaper, “The Telegraph” has reported that China appears to have built at least 10 new airbases along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh besides ramping up infrastructure at its exiting airbases close to the Indian frontier, sources in the security establishment have said.
The latest assessment has strengthened the suspicion that the Chinese have been using the time afforded by the ongoing talks with India to buttress their positions in the “occupied” zones in Ladakh.
“Intelligence reports suggest the Chinese have built at least 10 new airbases along the LAC in Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. This is very serious considering the 16-month-old border standoff in eastern Ladakh,” a security official attached to the Union home ministry was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
He said the Chinese army had earlier built additional military camps as well as watchtowers with CCTV cameras atop them inside India-claimed lines in Ladakh to monitor Indian troop deployment.
“It’s a matter of extreme concern the way they have been ramping up their military and air force infrastructure close to the LAC and also inside the occupied zones,” the security official said.
“It’s apparent that the Chinese are bolstering their positions while talks are under way to resolve the border standoff.”
The standoff continues in Hot Springs and the Depsang Plains while there have been “partial” disengagements at the Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake and Gogra – but with both sides pulling back by an equal distance within India-claimed lines. This means India has ceded additional territory while the Chinese still remain within India-claimed lines, military veterans say.
On the strategically crucial Depsang Plains, the Chinese are said to be entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines.
While Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted with a screenshot of the media report That “We are facing a new war paradigm on our borders. Ignoring it won’t work”
We are facing a new war paradigm on our borders.
Ignoring it won’t work. pic.twitter.com/E1a8FaGZEP
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 21, 2021
Gandhi has also repeatedly criticised the government for its handling of the border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries that erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.